Gone
by KaterinaPetrova
Summary: After a spat between Damon and Elena, he flees town and she suddenly goes missing as well. They whole gang is left with a compelled witness, lacking clues, and a bad feeling. Will Elena survive alone with Damon and his temper? *Reboot of Taken*
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Wrong Time, Wrong Place**

"_Damn it Elena, you can't just pretend you don't feel anything for me! I _know _that every time you look at Stefan you want to see me; hugging you, holding you, comforting you. I _know_ that every day you're not with me, you feel empty, like a part of you is missing. I _know_ because that's how I feel; I love you Elena, and I know you love me too."_

_Elena took in a sharp breath when Damon appeared in front of her, the air still shaking behind him from his incredible speed._

"_You don't have to pretend anymore, Elena. I know." Damon said softly, raising his hand slowly to lightly trace her jaw line. His eyes searched hers longingly, looking for a response._

_He shifted his weight and attempted to lean in to kiss her, taking her silence as eager shyness._

"_No, Damon, stop, you know I don't feel that way" she whispered firmly, reaching up to push against his leather jacket, hoping he'd just give up and walk away._

_No such luck. Damon paused for a moment, and then leaned back in, grazing his lips against hers._

_Elena lost it._

_"I'm not Katherine, I'm never going to be Katherine. I know that when you look at me, you must see some sort of substitute, but I'm not. I happen to be very much Elena, and she doesn't mess around with both brothers. You're trying to convince yourself that I feel something towards you that is much more than it really is. You think that if you believe it, I will, except.. I won't. I love Stefan, Damon, not you. Don't you see? It's always going to be Stefan."_

_Elena looked down at the floor meekly; suddenly afraid about what Damon might do next. It had taken a_ lot _of pushed down anger to get the adrenaline rush needed to give her enough courage to say what she just did. After all, when a vampire is acting calm that close to your neck, you're not exactly supposed to try and piss him off._

_Not two seconds after the words had left her mouth, she heard a sharp crash and looked up hesitantly to see the parlor mirror shattered, and Damon nowhere to be found. Taking this opportunity to run, she grabbed her purse from the couch and fled from the room, running down the hallway of the boarding house and escaping through the front door. She didn't look back once as she put her keys in the ignition and speed out of the driveway._

"Stefan, I'm fine, he didn't even touch me, I'm okay, really," Elena reassured her boyfriend as he paced back and forth in front of her double bed, clearly angered.

The moment Elena had returned home from the boarding house, she had run up to her room, avoiding Jenna's attempts at parental questioning and called Stefan. It had taken him little under five minutes with his vampire speed to be at her house and get through her window,

Reaching the end of her bedroom, he stopped and placed one hand on her ivory painted wall, leaning against it for support before responding.

"I should've been there. It was selfish of me to go so far out to hunt without telling you, especially with everything that's happening right now. I keep thinking, what if he hurt you? I was towns away, I wouldn't have been able to do anything." Stefan murmured helplessly.

"Nooo, None of what happened has anything to do with you going out of town, its just how Damon is. It wouldn't have mattered if it had went down at the boarding house, here or anywhere else, he knows how I feel about you and he's just upset that he doesn't have anyone who cares about him that way. I don't think he would've hurt me" Elena coaxed Stefan as she reached up from her spot on her chaise lounge to rub his arm tenderly.

Stefan leaned down and met Elena's open arms for an embrace.

"I'm just so glad you're safe," he whispered into her ear, petting her long, chocolate colored locks. "I won't leave your side tonight, you'll be okay," He frowned slightly but his eyes lit back up when Elena hugged him closer to her.

That night, Stefan stayed over and guarded Elena, much to his displeasure at not being allowed to confront Damon, but Elena made him promise that he wouldn't pick a fight with him, because Damon, the stronger of the two vampire brothers, would most definitely win that fight.

Elena sighed as she withdrew all thoughts from the day and let her body relax against Stefan's protective chest, drifting off to sleep.

_Dear Diary,_

_Yes! I'm going over to Caroline's house with Bonnie after school today, and I couldn't be more excited! It's been a long week, but I'm finally having hopes that the three of us have a chance at getting back to the way we used to be._

_Of course, Bonnie's a witch, Caroline's a vampire, and I'm a doppelganger being hunted down for the use in a sacrifice, but I miss them, and I really miss the girl to girl bonding that has been majorly lacking lately. Maybe things changed for the better. Maybe it will bring us all even closer together._

_Ughhh. I can't stop thinking about what happened with Damon last Friday, exactly one week now and there hasn't even been a trace of Damon. I wonder where he went; what he's doing. He had no right to try to intimidate me into kissing him, and who knows what else, and now he's just gone. Vanished. Left. Maybe it's a crazy way to see if it'll make everyone miss him? I don't know.. but Stefan tried looking for him, like I wrote earlier, he stopped on Tuesday because after awhile it became clear that Damon doesn't want to be found. I bet he left Virginia entirely. I'm not sure he's even coming back. I feels so strange without him. I know I should be mad after what he did, but, I sort of _do _feel that emptiness he was rambling about. I guess I just miss my friend. Well, my kind of friend. Ugh, i know, I know. But, I have to get to school, so I'll write later. :)_

_Love,_

_Elena Gilbert_

"Ringggg," the familiar bell sounded as Elena Gilbert gave a sigh of relief. Finally, after all the history, science, math, and language she could take, Elena was a ten-minute drive home away from the beginning of the weekend with her two best friends.

However, just as she had retreated down her high school's front steps and located her car, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Trying not to show annoyance, she plastered the most realistic smile on her face that she could muster and spun around to meet the imposer. It was just Brittany; a giddy but sometimes slightly annoying girl that Elena had cheered with before she had quit the team.

"Elena!" the girl smiled enthusiastically. "I'm like, soo sorry to ask you this when you were just meaning to leave, but I wasn't in science today and someone told me we got a really important study sheet for the test on Monday… I hope this isn't too much to ask, but is there any chance you have an extra sheet?" Brittany bit her lip hopefully, silently pleading with her eyes.

Elena tried to hide her frustration with the inconvenience before slapping on a fake smile and responding casually, "Um, yeah, of course, that's no problem at all; I have an extra copy in my locker." Elena did _not_ want to turn around and re-enter the cement structure she had just spent eight hours in, but, she couldn't take her promising words back now, because Brittany was all but jumping up and down at the other girl's answer.

"Elena you are like, totally a life-saver! Thank youuu!" she squealed. She batted her eyelashes happily before turning to follow Elena back into the school.

As they approached her locker, Elena slid her bag off of her arm and set it gently on the floor before dialing in her combination. When she had the sheet, she turned around to hand it to Brittany, only to be rewarded with an empty hallway.

"Brittany? I have the science sheet.." Elena scanned the hallway for the blonde girl, but there were only a couple of people littered among the lockers, and none of them were Brittany.

Suddenly, her gaze landed on the door to the pool area by the gym, and she noticed Brittany's zebra print Betseyville bag leaning against it casually. Elena, starting to get upset with the sudden lack of enthusiasm directed towards the once in-demand science sheet, reluctantly pulled open the pool doors and spotted Brittany, propped up on her elbows with her back to Elena, sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water.

"Um, I have the science sheet, but I really do have to get going now, I have plans that I should probably be getting ready for, so I'll just give it to you now or…" Elena froze as Brittany's head fell limply to the side. She was now very aware of the blood dripping down Brittany's right arm, forming a tiny puddle on the pale pool tiles.

Elena ever so slowly retreated behind her, intent on backing up as far as the wall would allow her.

The blood was coming from Brittany's neck.

Elena knew she had to get a towel from the locker room to stop the bleeding. She had to get an ambulance. She had to call Stefan to make sure whoever had done this wasn't still nearby. She had to do something. But before she could react, a hand was clamped tightly over her mouth and her waist was pulled fiercely back by someone from behind.

She struggled and kicked until she was able to swing her head back slightly and look up at her attacker's chin. The person was wearing a thick black ski mask with holes only for the eyes, nose and mouth, making it quite clear for Elena to see the person's upside-down, menacing scowl. When she saw her assailant's hand reach towards her neck, she instantly knew that struggling would not cease the attack, and when she felt the familiar clasp that held her necklace being torn from her, her suspicions where confirmed. There is only one reason why Elena Gilbert's necklace would threaten the plans of a kidnapper. And there is only one kind of kidnapper that would want it taken off.

"Vampire," she breathed. And then her knees gave out, her head fell back, she collapsed, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

******Chapter Two: Belle of the Ball**

_A thin spray of Vanilla Noir perfume coated Elena's neck as she crushed the tinseled applicator with her delicate fingers adorned with freshly painted, blush colored nails. Her long brunette tresses fell down her back in loose curls and her perfect, pouty lips were painted a deep red that stood out vividly against her pearl white teeth. Elena trailed her hand along the French ivory lace corset that made her waist delectably narrow and pushed her breasts up high to create generous cleavage. She raised her arms up high as her handmaid lowered a fitted crimson gown over her tiny frame and laced it up tightly from behind her. The red hued satin clung to her skin in all the right places, and the scrunched lace bowed out at her hips and pooled majestically around her in a full circle of fabric. Elena pulled on her handmade black translucent gloves and finished the look with a diamond beaded black chocker necklace. Admiring her flawless appearance, she allowed her handmaid to escort her down the marble stairs of the mansion and into the exquisitely decorated ballroom. There, awaiting her at the bottom of the staircase was Damon Salvatore._

_The moment Elena's eyes met his, she stepped back in sheer terror. She reached down and picked up the bottom of her dress, clutching it high to avoid tripping as she flung herself around and retreated hastily up the steps. She speed by door after door, but all of them were locked. Finally, she reached the end of the hallway and turned to the last door on the right. Her trembling hand reached up and curled around the knob, and her heart beat fast with anticipation knowing this was her last chance. As she turned it slowly, the white wooden door gave way and creaked open loudly as she shuffled through and locked it behind her. She fell against it and collected her breathing, attempting to subdue her hyperventilation._

_Looking around the room for the first time, she recognized where she was. Her bedroom. And sprawled across her bed was a beautiful brunette with flawless, olive toned skin and thick eyelashes framing her warm doe eyes. Elena looked at the lady in confusion; she was an exact reflection of every single one of Elena's own features. A perfect twin. Elena watched as her duplicate sat up on the bed and motioned for her to come closer and sit next to her. Elena hesitantly did as she was asked to, and she felt the mirror image's hand come up to gently touch her cheek. She leaned her luscious lips by Elena's ear and whispered three words. "You're in danger."_

Suddenly, I was falling. I was plummeting down into an endless dark abyss, vaguely aware of the voice calling out to me; screaming my name. I heard the frantic pleas, desperate to save me from this blackness.

"Caroline! Caroline! Wake up!" Caroline darted up from beneath Bonnie's cream-colored sheets and took calm, slow breaths as she assessed the situation. Her best friend's hazel eyes looked back at her impatiently, and Caroline could tell Bonnie must've been shaking her for a while.

"Finally. I thought you'd never get up." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "My dad made us breakfast, care to attend?" She joked as Caroline rolled out of bed and groggily made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Bonnie followed her and closed the door gently behind them. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the girl brought up something that had been bothering her.

"Car, I'm worried about Elena. I know she missed our sleepover, but doesn't it seem a little suspicious? I mean, you can't be mad at her if it isn't her fault. It doesn't make sense. Jenna hasn't seen her since yesterday morning when she left for school, but she isn't worried because she thinks Elena's with us. And Stefan offered to drive her home from school yesterday but she backed out because she had her car there from Thursday. So, where is she?" the hazel eyed girl looked up at her friend, genuinely concerned.

Caroline smiled and laughed lightly as she combed her soft honey hair. "I think you're reading to much into this Bonnie. I mean, she obviously ditched us to hang out with Stefan; she just doesn't want to admit it to us. She's probably over them thinking up a good excuse right now. I guess she's just proven that she isn't interested in being our friend." the blonde finished quietly, trying to spare her friend's emotions.

"No, I don't think that's it at all, she wouldn't lie to us, and neither would Stefan." Bonnie answered.

"Well, maybe we should call him? I doubt trying Elena's cell for the hundredth time will get us anywhere."

"Or.. We could go to the boarding house. "

The blonde huffed. "Bon, It's been one day. She could be anywhere. Vampire speed? They could be on a date in Japan for all we know."

"I know, but it's just.. I had this really strange dream about her last night, and it was kind of scary. It was a dream, I know, but it was so real. Like a vivid memory. I know the difference between Katherine and Elena, but it was like there were two Elena's, and she was running from something, she was scared, and one of the Elena's told the other that she was in trouble."

The blonde froze and dropped her hairbrush to the ground. The handle made a hissing noise as it cracked slightly against the tiled floor.

"Was.. was she wearing a red dress? At a dance? Before she ran?"

Bonnie nodded slowly. "…How did you know?"

She looked up and met Bonnie's eyes. "Because I had the same dream."

Elena's eyelids felt as if they had ten-pound weights resting on each one. Her back was sore and aching, and she couldn't remember a thing from the night, or day before. It could've been 2:00pm or 3:00am and she wouldn't have known the difference. All she could think about was how much sleep she wanted and how exhausted she felt.

She shifted slightly under the soft object that lay underneath her and felt resistance from her wrists and ankles. Mustering all of her lackluster strength, she opened her eyes slowly and moved her throbbing head upwards to get a look at her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the antique, four-poster bed that she was sprawled awkwardly across. Countless pale pink plush pillows and a matching feather stuffed, silk embroidered comforter surrounded her.

Elena sat up slowly to get a better look around, tensing slightly as her aching body screamed at her to lie back down. The room she was was rather large. She took in the window seat in the corner framed by delicately sewn curtains, and gasped at the numerous pieces of hand carved gold trimmed ivory wood furniture scattered throughout the room. From the identical night stands placed on each side of the bed to the armoire, the room was fit for a princess. Elena's gaze finally landed on a deep beige and pink colored chaise lounge. There was a deep green and white camisole and matching bra and underwear set laying angelically across the chair. Something about it strangely called to her, she knew she was supposed to put it on. Preparing to slide off the bed and get up, she felt the resistance around her ankles once more and when she tried to pull back the comforter to reveal the inconvenience, she felt it against her wrists, too. Elena looked up cautiously and gasped in surprise.

Handcuffs. She was handcuffed to this bed. By her hands, and her ankles. This was enough to snap Elena out of her dream like trance.

"What the hell .…where am I?" she thought aloud.

This couldn't be good. Everything about this was out of place. This room was decorated like a palace, and it certainly didn't look like anywhere she had ever been before. Tears collected against her lids and threatened to spill out across her cheeks. Confusion overtook every functioning part of her brain and her body was screaming with pain. She couldn't remember a thing about what had happened, or anything for that matter since she got out of school.

"School," she whispered breathlessly as the memories flooded back to her mind. Now she remembered. She had last been at school. She was helping someone.. who was it? She was getting something for them, from her locker. Homework! That's what it was, she was giving someone an extra copy of the homework. Elena raked her brain desperately, looking for answers to her overwhelming list of questions. Little by little, everything started coming back to her. She recalled giving the homework to a girl.. Brittany.. and than everything went black. What had happened? No matter how long she sat there thinking, she couldn't figure it out. After she had gotten the page for Brittany, she had entered the pool room and tried to hand it to her. She was attacked from behind when she realized what had happened to Brittany (she had been bitten on the neck.)

Elena closed her eyes tightly. She remembered seeing the face of the thing that had grabbed her. The thing that had taken her necklace. The thing that had hurt Brittany and was probably behind the situation Elena was now faced with. She filed the attacker under "thing" because she wasn't sure if her assailant was really human. _Vampires _bit humans._ Vampires _drank human blood. But, then again, vampires have super speed and super strength.. why would they need to wear a mask?

Just then, Elena heard a blood curdling scream. She flexed against her restraints wildly, trying to get even one hand or ankle free. The screams continued and Elena gulped. They were coming from the hallway outside the door to her room. Outside the door that was padlocked and sealed with cement.

Why hadn't she noticed that before? Of course the door was reinforced, whatever had taken her here didn't want her to get away. Just then, Elena remembered the window seat. Although there were no other windows or ways of entry beside the door to the room, there was the window seat window. And there was no padlock on that... If she could somehow get out of these handcuffs, she could run to the window and escape. She could run and find help, she could save whoever was screaming. Just then, even more high pitched sounds erupted though the door.

"Aggghhh," someone shrieked, "Stoppp, please! Nooo," the sounds echoed inside of Elena's room.

Her body went stiff. She knew who's voice was screaming. Brittany. And she had a feeling she also knew who was next.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Mysteries & Epiphanies**

"What do you mean you haven't seen Elena?" Caroline seethed, daggers flying from her eyes.

Upon Bonnie's realization that some sort of black magic had been involved with her and Caroline's dream, she had thoroughly flipped through Emily's grimoire and found out that the dream was a sort of psychic prophecy that effected people in an attempt of warning. Supposedly, the dreams, no matter how strange or out-of-there they seemed, were legitimate warnings that had some element of truth, and quite often, assist in saving lives.

**Saving** lives.

Meaning, Elena's life _needed_ to be saved. But, from what?

Jeremy looked wide-eyed at Caroline, he was momentarily at a loss for words at her outrageous anger. "I, um, of course I don't know, she was supposed to be sleeping over with you?" he stated, almost question-like.

Bonnie put a hand lightly on Caroline's arm in a soothing manner, attempting to calm down her eccentric friend.

"This is _bad_. I can't smell or hear her anywhere, and her car's still in the school parking lot.." Stefan filled Jeremy in. He had only met up with them a couple of minutes earlier, after he had conducted a thorough search for Elena; a vampire-quality sweep of Mystic Falls and it's surrounding towns. The three of them were now interrogating Jeremy heatedly in the living room of the Gilbert household.

Jeremy's face fell into a worried scowl and the rest of the group sat in silence while contemplating their next move.

Bonnie had already done a location spell earlier that morning with Caroline. They had used the vile of Jeremy's blood left over from Rose and Trevor's attempt at turning Elena over to Klaus. Although the blood had worked to locate Elena then, when Bonnie had tried it just recently, the blood had freakishly disolved on the map.

It wasn't too hard to decipher the reason; other witches were involved. Most likely, a spell had been cast over wherever Elena was that kept her location hidden. However, it took an incredibly strong witch to cast such a spell. In fact, it would have to be a witch as strong as a Bennett, and Bonnie hadn't even _heard_ that there were other Bennett witches apart from the sole cousin she had met at the Masquerade party.

Jeremy spoke up hesitantly, breaking the silence.

"I think we should find out where she was last. Maybe someone heard something, or saw something." Jeremy suggested, trying to be of some form of help.

Stefan's lost eyes glanced up to meet Jeremy's as he responded in a monotone voice. "I already told you, her car is still in the school's parking lot. She couldn't have left by herself. She's obviously not in Mystic Falls anymore, but how are we going to possibly find out what happened between the time when school got out yesterday and now?" Everyone in the room could tell how Elena's absence was affecting Stefan. Negatively. It was no secret.

Jeremy pondered this before Caroline answered abruptly, pulling her hands to her hips to signify her disagreement. "We could check her car. You know, look for signs of a struggle? Or maybe someone cut her wires and then tricked her to accepting a ride 'home.' Any little piece of information at this point is crucial." Caroline stated, glancing at the others seriously.

Bonnie, Jeremy and Stefan all nodded their heads briefly in agreement and the friends-turned search team filed out through the Gilbert's front door without another word.

Everything was happening so fast. A whirlwind of emotions was raining down and Elena was so blinded by the shrieks and cries of pain coming from outside of the door, that she wouldn't have heard a tornado if it had just blown off the roof. All she could think about was how absolutely defenseless she was, like a turkey waiting to be cooked for Thanksgiving dinner. Elena was just listening to the turkey ahead of her being butchered and all she _knew_ was that she _could_ do nothing about it; except wait to meet the same fate.

Elena made a desperate attempt to collect her thoughts before processing the information she already knew. For some reason, a vampire had taken her here. And, she couldn't just lie helplessly and listen to Brittany surrendering pleas. Whoever had brought her here had cruelly used Brittany as bait, and the mystery vampire was just enjoying its bonus meal.

The strange part was, the vampire had been wearing a ski mask. Why would a vampire with super strength, speed, and compulsion skills be afraid to be recognized? The situation was both utterly confusing and increasingly strange. What was even harder to understand was that her kidnapper had not taken her for Klaus. That much was certain; the moonstone was forever safe with with Katherine; there would be absolutely no reason to take the doppelganger without it. So, if this wasn't about Klaus, but it was important enough for a vampire to wear a ski mask while capturing her, what was this about?

The terrified girl was suddenly broken from her thoughts when she realized that Brittany was no longer screaming. In fact, there were no sounds at all. There was a strong sense of the 'way-too-quiet' feeling that usually appeared in horror movies before someone got killed.

Although Elena was rather peeved that Brittany had had a major part in luring her to her capture, the blonde had quite apparently been under compulsion when she had done so. Furthermore, now that Elena thought about it, Brittany _had_ been in class the other day, so she would've had the study sheet. She had been _compelled_ to say that she didn't. Elena, sighed. Stupidly, she had fallen for it. However, no matter the circumstances, Brittany did not deserve to die. The brunette knew she had to say something. Taking a deep breath, she prepared her words. Elena had been pondering something as simple as 'Please don't hurt her' to something as drastic as 'Suck _me_ dry instead.'

But before she could even begin, she heard the unmistakable metallic clinking of nails being screwed into place.

'That's odd,' she thought warily. 'What is going on?'

Elena tilted her head upwards as far as she could stretch, attempting to peer through the the sheer material of the canopy and upwards at the ceiling. As soon as she had done so, however, she heard rustling beside her and realized a little too late that the nails being "screwed in place" were actually being _un_screwed. A large iron disk crashed to the ground, and Elena saw that it had come from the air conditioning duct over the bed. In the blur of the moment, she felt rather than see the rough jab of a very sharp object pierce through her skin, and as the opaque black splotches clouded her vision, she came to the knowledge that someone was drugging her. The room began to spin dramatically, and soon afterwards came to a complete, soundless, and utterly dark stop.

"There's nothing here." Caroline announced, sulking wishfully at Elena's deserted GM vehicle.

She had been expecting at least _some _sort of sign that Elena had been kidnapped. Scratches running down the side of her car, a dropped purse or bag, pulled hairs. She would be able to detect any sort of disturbance that had occurred anywhere near here, she was a vampire for heaven sake! But, there was nothing but a coke can littered parking lot and cigarette buds for dozens of yards in every direction.

"She wasn't snatched _directly_ in front of her car Care," Bonnie pointed out, rolling her eyes.

Stefan processed the statement thoughtfully and nodded in agreement. "I say we split up and check around the property, then. There has to be _something, _some_where _that gives us a hint. The football fields, her last class...?"

...

Three hours later, the two vampires in the group had searched every inch of the Mystic Falls High School with absolutely no headway in finding their missing friend. As for the witch and Elena's brother, they had been scurrying along just as carefully, looking everywhere for signs of her disappearance. Finally, after further miss-success, everyone met back up in front of the school.

Stefan had a difficult time hiding the defeated look spread across his usually precise looking face. Shouldn't he be the one protecting her? Isn't he the one who is always supposed to watch out for her, and be with her at all times? He cursed himself for not being there for her. He could've stopped her kidnapper. But now, with Damon gone, too, he was going to be very short on resources to help find her. Jeremy and Bonnie had been great to come help, but they wouldn't make much headway as humans. Especially since Bonnie's powers were void when it came to the current situation.

"Well, what to do now?" Bonnie broke him from his thoughts. "What _can_ we do? If you guys are _vampires_ and can't track her down, how do you expect she'll turn up?"

Caroline and Stefan stiffened at Bonnie's comment.

"Well, um," Caroline started, at a loss for words.

Stefan saved her from the on-the-spot question and turned to Bonnie reassuringly.

"This is hard on all of us, but we can't give up hope. We'll find her, I promise, I for one won't give up until I do." Stefan promised aloud.

"Neither will I." Caroline guaranteed

"Nor I." Jeremy countered.

"Me neither!" Jeremy piped up.

Stefan looked up at Bonnie and Jeremy doubtfully. "No, you guys need your rest." He said firmly, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark and we'll find her faster if we all think this through carefully. Why don't you guys do some digging tomorrow morning and see if you can find out who saw her last?"

"Yeah Bonnie, and text us right away if you find something. I'll be sure to call you and do the same." The blonde confirmed.

Jeremy looked unconvinced, but Bonnie nodded a quick 'okay' to the two vampires and rubbed Jeremy's arm comfortingly as she led him back to her car.

When they were out of sight, Caroline turned to Stefan and he could see the gleam of one of her "brilliant ideas" in her eyes. Before he could even think about the kind of trouble she was considering, she spoke up.

"I think I know who can help us." she began. "Whoever napped Elena has got to be calculating, cruel, and manipulating. Anyone would have to be to want to slaughter an innocent girl for selfish reasons." Care pointed out.

Stefan's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

"Who do we know like that?" she continued, attempting to draw out his understanding. "Who do we know that could get in the mind of that kidnapper best?"

'Calculating, cruel and manipulative,' Caroline's words rang through his ears as wandering thoughts trailed through his mind.

'What is she getting at...?' he pondered

The it hit him.

'Oh, no. Oh NO, no, no, no, no. Don't say it.' Stefan internally screamed, his eyes widening subconsciously.

She just gave a small, amused nod before confirming his dreaded suspicions.

"Katherine."

_"AHHHHHHHH." Elena cried out, stealing a glance behind her into the un-telling shadows._

_Sweat poured down into her eyes from the perspiration collecting quickly along her forehead. Her head throbbed painfully as the bottoms of her dirty, bare feet padded quickly aginst the thorns and sharp rocks that she was trugging ever so quickly across. She continued to sprint longingly through the forest, waiting for the relief-filled, perfect moment that would arrive when she reached the highway; when he could flag down a car and quickly escape from the vampire hot on her heels._

_Could._

_Being honest with herself, however, she knew that she didn't have much of a chance. If she hadn't have stabbed her vampire pursuer with a couple twigs before fleeing, she would definitely be dead meat right about now. No, more like dead skin, because she wouldn't have enough blood left her in her body to even be called _meat_. Thinking about it, even if she did manage to hitchhike herself out of here, the vampire would definitely be recovering soon, and then she would endanger not only her own life but the life of whoever had tried to help her. 'No', Elena decided. She couldn't be selfish and get someone else killed in an attempt to save herself._

_Elena pushed all thoughts out of her mind. Somewhere in her conscious, she knew what she was going to do once she reached the highway. It didn't matter what happened to anyone else, all she knew was that she had to get there. She had to save herself. She had to run. She had to try. Because if she didn't have hope, she would probably collapse right there in the mud and brambles scattered along the forest floor. She would have given up and waited to die. Because truthfully, she shouldn't still be running now. Elena couldn't explain how she was able to possibly keep going, but somehow she was. Somehow, she had surpassed the speed of a normal human being in a crazy adrenaline packed fit of fear. You know, the ones you hear about those soccer moms getting when their kids are in trouble? How they get super strength or speed in times of need?_

_'That must be what's happening to me,' she thought to herself as she whizzed by trees and bushes._

_Pretty soon, she could hear the screeching of tires rolling over pavement and a deliciously heavenly smell wafted it's way up to her nose. She promptly became aware of her incredible thirst and for the first time since she had gotten away from her vampire captor, she was comforted with the feeling that her thirst would soon be quenched._

_'Wait a second... Is there water nearby?' Elena wondered, utterly confused as her body kept itself moving towards her unspoken target._

_Only, it wasn't her body. Now that she got a good look at it, she knew that it simply couldn't be hers. The petite, curvy body and olive toned skin did match her own, but the tight clenching around her waist clearly signified a corset and the ruffled, green lace victorian era gown wasn't hers. In fact, the glossy, spiral curls both pinned up and flowing around her angelic, heart shaped face weren't hers either. But there _was _one person who she knew bore that exact resemblance._

_Just then, however, she was pushed roughly up against a tree, stomach first, and she felt a branch pierce through her stomach._

_"EIIAHHHH," She shrieked, and out of the corner of her pain-filled eyes she took in the group of five handsome, male vampires dressed in similar period clothing, lined up in back of the one who had assaulted her._

_Before she could utter further response to her attackers, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and she was pushed backwards, the sharp branch leaving her stomach. The pain was excruciating, and as she turned weakly around, she was meet with the practically smirking crystal eyes of someone she knew all too well._

"Damon." Elena rocketed upwards, breathing sharply. A hand flew up to steady her throbbing head and she consoled herself inwardly.

"It was just a dream," she reassured herself aloud, exhaling breathlessly and leaning back into the firm, cream colored couch.

Couch? She bolted back upwards in confusion and choked on her breath as her eyes fluttered in disbelief at the site before her.

"Or so you say." he smirked, glass tumbler in hand, filled to the brim with what Elena was sure must've been at least seven servings of scotch whiskey.

**He.**

Damon Salvatore.


	4. Chapter 4

******Chapter Four: Don't You Wish You Knew**

Elena screamed. She shrieked louder than she thought was possible without permanently tearing her vocal chords. Her voice was getting weaker and weaker and for a fraction of a second, she thought it would burn out completely. Her head felt fuzzy and she strained to keep her eyes open to Damon's bewildered expression, but it disappeared sooner than it had appeared in the first place. His hand clamped tightly around her mouth immediately, and Elena's first instinct was to bite down, but she resisted the urge when Damon's terrifyingly cold voice warned her against it.

"You'll regret it if you do. Now, _shut up_."

Elena glared up at him menacingly as he released her mouth from his hold and resumed his position on the arm of the couch. Within easy reach of her neck, she might add. Elena knew better than to taunt him; he was a fucking nut case! He would have to be crazy to go through all of this trouble, and for who _knows_ what! Attempting to calm her radical breathing, she brainstormed ways of escape and distraction.

For the first time since she had woken up, Elena looked around the room that she had apparently been sleeping in for some time now. It looked suspiciously like the library in the movie_ Beauty and The Beast._ It was gigantic, with double wooden staircases twisting up to the second floor and gold detailing on the extensive, triple height ceiling. Rows and rows and stacks of books lined wall, and a globe that must've been bigger than ten times Elena's size rested up against the farthest door in the room. The intricately woven couch she was perched on faced a huge oak desk on the west side of the room with stacks of papers, a desktop, and what looked like years worth of research notes.

Elena was at a loss of words at the site. She immediately registered that decor was so similar to that of the bedroom she had resided, against her will, in earlier, she had no doubts that this room and the bedroom were both apart of the same enormous mansion. Temporarily forgetting her fury, she stuttered before collecting herself and questioning her captor.

"Damon.. where _are_ we?"

He gave a short, amused chuckle at her awe-stricken face. "Don't you wish _you_ knew?"

Suddenly, everything sunk in and she was reminded that this little act was not, in fact a kind gesture on his part. Elena stepped off the couch warily as she collected herself and then stood in front of the vampire as intimidatingly as she could. She decided last minute that an outright attack would be more effective than prolonging the inevitable.

"_YOU_. You did this to me, and to Brittany. _Drugging_ me? _Hurting_ her?" She watched his reaction cautiously, but his smirk didn't miss a beat. He though this was _funny_. "Tell me. What do you _want_, Damon? Because I can sure as hell tell you what you'll never have." Her glare increased.

Damon's eyes turned dark briefly before he regained his composure. "_You_," he said boldly, pointing a finger roughly against her chest, "Will shut. up. _NOW._"

Elena knew she was pushing it, but she had to keep going. She had so much pent up fury inside of her, she couldn't control herself, even as he began to step towards her ever so menacingly.

"No!" Elena returned with just as much force. "You're a fool if you think I'll stay here! What's wrong with you? I thought you were making progress, Damon. I thought you were my friend! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to know that out of everyone in the world who could have done this to me.. that it is was you?"

Elena's lost puppy dog eyes were gnawing away at Damon's heart and he couldn't take it any longer. The only way that he could control his emotions was if he _took_ control. He had to shut it off. He had to shut _her_ out.

"_Stop_." He growled, shaking her shoulders as if he was trying to snap her out of something. He had to break it. He had to break _her_.

"I don't think you get it Elena, I don't _care_. I never _wanted_ you as my friend. I wanted you as much, much more than that. And finally, for the first time in the past 180 years, I'm _taking_ what I want."

And with that, black veins rippled across Damon's face and suggestively sharp teeth lurched from their spots inside of gums. He took a single, determined step forward and sunk his teeth into a both terrified and unwilling Elena. Blood, lust, and emotion overtook him and he gripped his prey roughly.

_Prey._

That's what she was to him. Swallow after intoxicating swallow, he felt the sweetest blood he had ever encountered coat his throat deliciously.

"This isn't right.. " Bonnie sputtered, looking up from her grimoire.

She and Jeremy had returned to his house desperately wanting to be more of a help in finding Elena. The clairsentient dream Bonnie and Caroline had shared was gnawing at her brain and she was trying to interpret what the emotions and symbolism could mean. Meanwhile, Stefan had been forced to consume a small amount human blood in order to compell Jenna not to notice Elena was gone. The situation had worked out very favorably, considering Jenna was now allowing Bonnie to sleep over with said Elena, but everyone knew they had to be careful treading this ground.

Even though Stefan was able to successfully compell Elena's aunt this time, there was no telling if or when it could fail, considering Stefan's lack of regular human blood intake, and the group just wasn't going to take any chances.

Jeremy looked over at Bonnie expectantly, trying to decipher the reason for her confusion. She caught his look and immediately flipped the spell book she was looking at over to him so she could explain the issue.

The witch that is hiding Elena is a Bennett, right? Well, this is one of Emily's most prized grimoire, it has all of the names of her relatives and instructions on how to contact them, except, the entire family tree is protected by a spell of secrecy. That way, only a select few who know how to preform the spell are able to read it. I guess Emily didn't want anyone else in her business."

Bonnie looked up and caught Jeremy's thoughtful eye.

"Okay, I get that, but wouldn't you have the spell? I mean, who else would, if not a member of the Bennett family?"

She forced a tight smile and sighed, biting her lip as she searched for an answer.

'Well, that's just it. The spell _is_ in this grimoire. At the very front," she explained, flipping to the page with the spell. "And only Bennett witch descendants can do it, but the strange thing is, I can't read it. I don't understand it. It's not in Latin or French or any language I've ever seen. Which means, of course, that another Bennett witch is hiding it. One more powerful than I am."

Jeremy's eyes narrowed in utter confusion and he shook his head. "That's impossible, though, you have the power of all of those hundreds of witches. And Emily... I don't get it."

Bonnie looked down at the floor before she spoke again.

"Don't you, though? It's the same witch that's hiding Elena. She knows who I am. She knows what we're looking for, and she definitely knows we're related." Bonnie looked up and her voice faltered sadly. Jeremy placed his hand on hers and pulled her small body into his, wrapping an arm around her securely.

Bonnie continued. "Taking all of that into consideration," her voice was only a whisper now as she tipped her head up off his shoulder and met his gaze. "That can only mean two things. Either she's completely evil and wants to hurt Elena just as much as her captor does, or Elena's kidnapper is a vampire that's powerful enough to compel the most powerful witches in existence into doing, and hiding, _whatever _he or she wants. And the thing is, Jeremy," Bonnie gulped.

He caught on and finished for her, shocked to his very bones. "...You could be next..."


End file.
